B&ME Slides1

PROFESSIONAL ETHICSResponsibilities & Rights of Professionals
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag, and the national anthem;
Cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India;
Defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
Value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
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FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
Protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
Develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
Safeguard public property and to abjure violence; and
Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor & achievement.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The right to information act was passed in 2005
A practical regime to enforce the right of citizens to information
Under the Act, citizens may request any information as defined and permitted under the rules; inspect and study documents and records; get copies of documents; obtain certified copies of documents; and request for soft copies of information.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
All constitutional authorities covering the executive, legislature, and judiciary;
All institutions established by an Act of the Parliament or the state legislature;
Organizations owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the government; &
Non-governmental organizations substantially financed directly or indirectly with funds provided by the government.
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL
Work towards advancement of profession
Promote common professional cause
EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS
Loyalty to public good is foremost
Loyalty to the profession
Loyalty to the employer
Organizational loyalty is the result of contractual obligations.
Identity loyalty is due to reasons beyond contractual obligations; your emotional attachment to the organization and the group of people you are working with.
Both loyalties will make one perform; but identity loyalty makes one do better due to emotional attachment; such employees will be asset to organizations
Misplaced Loyalty
Loyalty to the organization should not come in the way of professional or public cause.
Balancing the different loyalties can sometimes become tricky.
Professional need to keep public good and professional integrity above organizational loyalty.
Confidentiality
As employee, professional gets a lot of information; some such information may have to be kept confidential.
The professional has to decide about which information has to be kept confidential.
Contractual obligations and moral considerations makes it mandatory for the professional to keep a lot of information confidential
Confidentiality
In the case of organizations, they have the right to keep some information confidential. This is required to survive in a competitive environment.
Confidentiality of information is also essential and an absolute need in some cases. A medical professional is given private information by a patient with the tacit understanding that the information so provided will be kept confidential. This is accepted as a mandatory requirement of confidentiality worldwide.
Employees are bound by contractual obligations about confidentiality, either explicitly mentioned or otherwise. Some employers may include this as a part of the contract for employment.
Confidentiality
When an employee changes jobs, he has the moral obligations to keep the information from the previous employer confidential.
As per ethical theories as well, confidentiality can be justified as the employer has a right to keep information confidential for business growth.
Confidentiality is not absolute; Information can shared if it is in the interest of public good.
Authority can be positional
Authority due to expertise is more valued
When you are employed in an organization, you are bound by the rules, regulations, traditions, organizational structure, etc., of the organization.
You are bound to obey orders issued to you and perform the duties assigned. You have to report the results or difficulties to your superiors.
Respect for Authority
You have to respect both the authority of individuals and the channels of communications laid down for you to communicate vertically and laterally.
All this binding applies as long as the orders do not command you to do something unethical or against your best professional judgment. Respect for authority is, thus, not absolute and may not cover all situations.
In ordinary situations, you may receive an order and act accordingly. You may or may not make an independent judgment of what that order means and whether it is ethical or not. Most of the times you may not even consider how ethical a situation is.
Respect for Authority
If there is a conflict between organizational requirement and what you consider as ethical to do, then you have to go by your most fundamental obligation of public safety. You must have the right to show your dissent, vent your objections, and defy the authority if required.
Public safety and welfare is a prime concern for a professional and institutional authority should not come in the way of you ensuring this main obligation.
PRIDE OF PROFESSION
You have to be committed to the profession.
This sense of commitment will enable you to work in a better way and achieve the objectives of the profession, the most important of which is public good.
You will be able to contribute to the development of the profession if you have this kind of commitment.
The pride of the profession will give you the moral strength to fight against acts that discredit the profession.
This sense of commitment will also enable you to be a useful member of the professional body, contribute to the professional development, and bring a better image to the profession.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Your good professional judgment may be affected because you have a personal interest in the issue and your sound and unbiased professional judgment is important for the company you are working for.
A professional should avoid situations where conflict of interest arises.
The prime criteria will be whether your professional judgment is affected because of such interest.
GIFTS & BRIBES
These terms are used to indicate a wide range of things from a harmless small gift to bribery. In between is a grey area that is difficult to judge.
A professional should not act against his/her professional conscience or judgment.
He/She should avoid situations that have the potential to force him/her to act against his/her judgment.
He/She should not accept any material gift of any value from someone or some agency if he/she has to make a business decision involving that person or agency
No guidelines can be laid down to clearly indicate the distinction between a harmless gift and a bribe. A bribe, essentially has an ulterior motive and is given with an expectation of return for the material or service given. A professional has to develop his/her own yardstick to decide on an acceptable form of gift in a given context.
OCCUPATIONAL CRIMES
takes the opportunity of using official information for personal gains;
has knowledge that he/she provides to friends or relatives for making profits;
uses such information and sells that information to others for making profits and financial or other gains for oneself;
sells classified information for pecuniary benefits; and
performs some illegal acts for making profits.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
Industrial espionage like selling industrial secrets for pecuniary gains
Tender manipulation through cartel – when bidders form a cartel to manipulate prices
Endangering lives – Workers being put into situations that is hazardous to their health
Insider trading
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE
You have a right to get a compensation package commensurate with your qualifications, experience, and skills, as per industry norms or standards. You have a right to get a compensation package commensurate with your qualifications, experience, and skills, as per industry norms or standards.
You have a right not to be discriminated against in the course of your career, starting from recruitment to promotions and other employee benefits.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE
You also have rights conferred on you by the employment contract like benefits that you may demand such as paid leave and travel allowances.
You have the right to pursue some outside activities that do not interfere with your work such as a hobby or other interests.
You have a right to be a member of an organization of employees for collective bargaining for getting their just rights.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF PROFESSIONALS
You have the right to pursue your profession in a free and fair manner by freely expressing your professional judgment.
You have the right to perform your professional duties according to your best professional judgment, without being coerced into decisions.
You have the right of refusal, that is, the right to refuse to do anything that is unprofessional or unethical.
Within the bounds of confidentiality, you have the right to talk freely about professional matters.
You have the right to pursue your professional interests, such as higher studies or research, without hampering your contractual obligations.
PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF PROFESSIONALS
You have the right to be a member of professional organizations that promote the profession and take active part in activities related to the profession.
You have the right to engage in activities that uphold your professional responsibility of public safety and welfare despite your loyalty to your employers.
You have the right for recognition of your professional services, including adequate remuneration and other rewards.
You have the right to go public with unethical acts (whistle-blowing).
WHISTLE BLOWING
DEFINITION
‘Disclosure of information about unethical acts in an organization to an authority within or outside the organization that is capable of taking steps to prevent such actions or punish those doing such acts with the motive of ensuring public safety or upholding morality.’
The whistle blower need not necessarily be an employee
WHISTLE BLOWING
Employee as Whistle Blower
As an employee you have to first explore the normal channels available to you to prevent any unethical act. It is only when you find that such efforts do not result in any action, that you have the moral right to violate the normal channels of communication within the organization.
Your loyalty (which is considered a responsibility) comes in the way of your communication. So the matter that you choose to disclose must be serious enough to bypass this responsibility. You have to seriously consider and weigh your options and only when you are satisfied that the matter is considerably important for public safety or morality within the organization that you must choose to blow the whistle.
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT
KEY FEATURES
It will protect the whistle-blowers from any discrimination or victimization in their workplace.
t provides for concealing the identity of a citizen who discloses information about the misuse of power and money. Those who reveal the identity of the whistleblower will be held liable and penalized by the CVC.(central vigilance commission)
The offenders will be liable for imprisonment up to 3 years and a fine up to `50,000.
There will be penalization in case of delays in response, under the RTI Act. A fi ne of `250 will be imposed for every day of delay beyond the set deadline.
There will be a penalization of officials who try to mislead the CVC.
KEY FEATURES
The bill provides for addressing complaints against public sector employees and employees of the central and the state governments.
The bill also ensures the honest government officials are not harassed in any way but those individuals who fi le false complaints and charges will be liable for imprisonment up to 2 years and fine up to `30, 000. The public interest disclosure as defined in the bill includes the following:
Any public servant or any other person including a non-governmental organization (NGO) may make a public interest disclosure to a competent authority (defined as the Central or State Vigilance Commission).
KEY FEATURES
Disclosure is defined as any complaint made in writing or electronic mail against a public servant on matters related to
(a) Attempt to or commission of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988;
(b) Willful misuse of power that leads to demonstrable loss to the government or gain to the public servant; or
(c) Attempt or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant.
A public servant is any person who is an employee of the central government or the state government or any company or society owned or controlled by the central or state government. However, no public interest disclosure shall be accepted against defense, police, and intelligence personnel.
Each disclosure shall be accompanied by full particulars and supporting documents. The vigilance commission shall not entertain anonymous complaints.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination is considerations other than merit in recruitment, promotion etc. This goes against the concept of equality.
Job discrimination is the most common as in recruitment
Gender discrimination is bias against women in all walks of life
Cultural discrimination is based on language, religion, caste etc.

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